Roman Tesfaye, the First Lady of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, has been honored with a Special Congregational Proclamation by the General Assembly of the State of Georgia, USA and presented with the CELD Global Inspirational Leadership Award 2016.

First Lady Roman was presented with the awards at the annual summit of South American, African, Middle East and Asia women summit which took place on 13 December 2016 in Dubai. The awards presented to First Lady Roma Tesfaye are in recognition of her outstanding leadership and tireless efforts in improving the lives of the people of Ethiopia, especially women and children, directly contributing to fast-tracking the development of the African Region.

The presentation of the award automatically qualified First Lady Roman to be inducted into the Global Women Leaders Hall of Fame.

Up on receiving the award, First Lady Roman said empowering women socially, politically and economically requires high-level political commitment and investment. “But is a commitment and investment worth making as the benefits are manifolds in the short and long-run,” she said.

She also commented that what is good for women is good for the economy as a whole and emphasized the importance of nurturing women leaders in the business, political and academic spheres.